Median hourly earnings
Definition
Real median hourly earnings from all wages and salaries for employees earning income from wage and salary jobs, as measured by the New Zealand Income Survey.
Relevance
Median hourly earnings from wage and salary jobs is an indicator of the financial return from paid employment, independent of the number of hours worked.
Current level and trends
In June 2007, half of all people employed in wage and salary jobs earned more than $18.00 an hour. The median hourly wage for male employees was $19.10, while for female employees it was $16.78.
Real median hourly earnings increased by $2.65 an hour or 17 percent in the 10 years to June 2007. The increase over this period was greater for female employees (18 percent) than for male employees (11 percent). The ratio of female to male median hourly earnings was 88 percent in June 2007. It rose from 83 percent in June 1997 to 88 percent in June 2001 but has not risen above that level since.
Figure PW3.1 Median hourly earnings from wage and salary jobs (in June 2007 dollars), by sex, June 1997 to June 2007
Source: Statistics New Zealand, New Zealand Income Survey
Age differences
In 2007, median hourly earnings from wage and salary jobs were highest at ages 30–34 years and 35–39 years ($20.91 an hour). This compares with $11.25 an hour for 15–19 year olds. By five-year age groups, the increase in employees’ real median hourly earnings between 1997 and 2007 was largest for those aged 15–19 years (23 percent) and those aged 30–34 years (22 percent), and smallest for those aged 20–24 years (7 percent). Across broad age groups, real median hourly earnings increased by 7 percent for those aged 15–24 years, 18 percent for those aged 25–44 years, 14 percent for those aged 45–64 years and 16 percent for those aged 65 years and over.
Sex differences
In 2007, the difference between the sexes in median hourly earnings for wage and salary earners was most evident in the over 30 years age groups. The gap was greatest at ages 60–64 years and 50–54 years, where the ratio of female to male median earnings for employees was 78 percent and 79 percent respectively. There was little difference between the earnings of men and women in the under 30 years age groups.
Figure PW3.2 Median hourly wage and salary earnings, by age and sex, June 2007
Source: Statistics New Zealand, New Zealand Income Survey
Ethnic differences
In June 2007, Europeans had the highest median hourly earnings for wage and salary earners at $18.94 an hour. In comparison, the Other ethnic group (including Asian) had median hourly earnings of $15.82. The median hourly earnings of Māori and Pacific ethnic groups were the lowest at $15.34 and $15.00, respectively. The ratio of Māori to European median hourly earnings was over 85 percent between 1998 and 2006 but fell to 81 percent in 2007. The ratio of Pacific peoples to European median hourly earnings was around 80 percent over the same period.
Over the 10 years to June 2007, increases in inflation-adjusted median hourly earnings from wage and salary jobs were highest for Europeans (19 percent), followed by Pacific peoples (16 percent) and Māori (15 percent). Employees from the Other ethnic group (including Asian) experienced the lowest increase in real median hourly earnings from wage and salary jobs (3 percent).
Regional differences
In 2007, workers in Wellington had substantially higher earnings than those in other regions. The median hourly wage for wage and salary earners was $20.00 in Wellington, $19.18 in Auckland, and $17.50 in Canterbury. Median hourly wages were lowest in Gisborne-Hawke’s Bay ($16.00) and Manawatu-Whanganui ($16.11).
Over the period 1998–2007, real median hourly wages increased most in the Northland and the Nelson/Tasman/Marlborough/West Coast regions (both 17 percent). All regions experienced positive growth in real hourly wages over the period. |
